We are a community of mighty thinkers and doers. We value each learner as an active participant on a personal journey toward success. We seek to understand ourselves and work together to impact our families, our community, and the world.
At University Park, we are committed to nurturing the whole child. Our teachers are lifelong learners with training to differentiate their instruction, challenging gifted students while ensuring success for all. Our instructional team collaborates to identify student strengths and needs, and then works collaboratively to ensure a comprehensive, targeted approach to teaching and learning. Physical fitness, wellness, the arts, and technology are integral and valued parts of our educational experience. At University Park, we love learning and foster a caring community built on respect, responsibility, and cooperation.
We share a love of discovery. . .Each classroom implements a reader’s and writer’s workshop in which students receive direct instruction in whole group, small groups, and independent practice. These targeted instruction models allow our teachers to meet each student’s individual needs in order to reach or surpass grade level expectations. Students read and write a variety of genres each year. We nurture a love of reading and writing through modeling and providing authentic opportunities for students to express themselves. We have many teachers trained in Orton Gillingham as well as other phonics programs. We have a balanced approach to using keyboards as well as handwriting during writing instruction.
Math: Bridges (K-1) and Engage New York w/ Zearn Online (2-5)These programs emphasize the application of mathematics to real world situations. Numbers, skills, and mathematical concepts are not presented in isolation, but are linked to situations and contexts that are relevant to everyday lives. Each lesson includes time for whole-group instruction as well as small group, partner, or individual activities. These activities balance teacher-directed instruction with opportunities for open-ended, hands-on explorations with manipulatives, long-term projects, and on-going practice. Throughout the curriculum students are encouraged to explain and discuss their mathematical thinking, in their own words.
Students become engaged in the process of scientific inquiry and technological design by asking questions, conducting investigations, using tools, finding evidence, keeping reflective journals, and sharing their evidence and ideas. Students learn to work together as reliable members of a scientific team–a great way to make sure everybody in the group is involved and successful. We incorporate Mystery Science, which is designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We cover key performance expectations for K-5 science. The experiment-based modules also encourage independent inquiry through which students find answers to their own questions. Examples include: “What’s that red thing on the turkey?”; and “Why is gravity different on different planets?”. Within each lesson, students check their own understanding individually or with their team and are engaged in hands-on learning.
Social Studies Alive! is a program integrating hands-on active learning, achieving a consistent pattern of high quality social studies instruction, while being mindful of standards. Assignments, involving multiple intelligences and higher-order thinking skills, challenge students to apply what they’ve learned. Students have opportunities to synthesize and apply the information they have learned in a variety of creative ways. At UPark, social studies is a key component of our school-wide vision of affecting the world around us.
At UPark, we have a Gifted and Talented teacher who works four days per week with classroom teachers and small groups of students to ensure our gifted and high-achieving students continue to be challenged. In cooperation with classroom teachers, the Gifted and Talented teacher develops an individualized Advanced Learning Plan for each identified gifted student. Gifted and high-achieving students have the opportunity to participate in four unique cross-school challenges throughout the year. We also have Semantics and Math Olympiad teams as additional opportunities for students.
Students who are achieving below grade level in reading receive additional small-group instruction to further support the core instruction. The goal of intervention is to accelerate students’ progress and provide them targeted instruction. Intervention varies in duration, frequency, and size in order to meet the needs of each learner. Intervention provides additional opportunities for students to connect reading and writing while building foundational skills.
At UPark, our Special Education Team is comprised of two Mild/Moderate Special Education Teachers, and Affective Needs Teacher, School Psychologist, Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, School Nurse and three SPED para-educators. This multi-disciplinary team helps support students who are identified as being eligible for special education services. The team provides services in a variety of environments which are designed to meet the needs of each unique student. Services can be provided in a small group setting, or through an inclusive approach, such as co-teaching within the general education classroom. The inclusion model ensures our students with disabilities have opportunities to learn alongside their peers. Inclusive education is our primary focus as it values diversity and the unique contribution each student brings to the classroom.
Our Affective Needs classrooms are self-contained classrooms for students with emotional disabilities that provide a strong emphasis on affective education, academics, and social skills programming. Emphasis is on replacing inappropriate behaviors with more socially acceptable ones. They offer a highly structured environment with individualized behavior management strategies and plans exist within these center classrooms.
We typically have 10 or more languages spoken at UPark during any given year. We have two teachers who provide pull-out, small group dedicated English instruction for our multilingual student body. Each of our classroom teachers is ELA-E certified to provide language acquisition support for all students. We also have a native language tutor who speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, supporting our myriad of students from China as well as other students needing language support. This makes UPark a wonderful place of cultural and linguistic diversity, which is celebrated each year during our Multicultural Night.
All students at UPark attend both music and drama each week. They begin their year participating in name and ensemble building games. Students in Kindergarten through 2nd Grade then learn about the four voices (shout, sing, talk, whisper), engage in finger plays, circle singing games, and echo songs. Third through 5th graders learn stage directions. All students rehearse for and participate in an annual grade level performance. Other major content explored throughout the year is as follows:
All students in grades K through 5 attend art every week. During this time, students create works of art with intent and purpose that have personal and symbolic meanings that connect to the world through history, math, science and literature. Students reflect on the meaning and connections in their art as well as their artistic choices. Students have the opportunity to explore and use various media and processes such as acrylic and tempera paints, watercolors, pastels, paper mâché, collage, batik, pottery and weaving.
Student art work is displayed throughout the school building on a regular basis, and families are invited to attend grade level Art Shows. Additionally, each January our school community comes together for Art Night, where families are invited to explore their creativity together at a variety of art stations.
In the University Park Elementary School Library, our focus is on supporting and growing the student’s love of reading. In kindergarten and first grade we concentrate on getting to know the school library, understanding book care, and the elements of a book, as well as to how to choose a just right book from our shelves. In 2nd through 5th grade, we highlight using specific technology that reinforces the use of e-books and audio books, non-fiction databases for research, and discovering how to use the Dewey Decimal System to find the perfect book, piece of research, or data set.
University Park offers a quality physical education program that helps all students develop health-related fitness, physical competence, cognitive understanding, and positive attitudes about physical activity so that they can adopt healthy and physically active lifestyles. Our PE program is based on standards driven instruction with a psychomotor, cognitive, and affective emphasis. Some of the types of activities we include in our curriculum are teamwork and cooperation games, skills related to team and individual sports, health related fitness, dance, and balance and tumbling skills.
Fourth and 5th grade students at UPark have the opportunity to participate in our band as a before school enrichment program through Big As Life Music. Over 60 students receive twice per week instruction in woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Both beginning and intermediate band are offered. University of Denver Lamont School of Music and Metropolitan State University students serve as sectional leaders throughout the year.
In addition to weekly practice, students participate in winter and spring concerts, perform at the school Fun Run, take a field trip to Metro, perform at a University of Denver sporting event, and participate in other performance opportunities in the community.
The school has nearly 60 instruments that are maintained by the PTA. These instruments are available for UPark band students to use throughout the school year for a low-cost rental fee, and scholarships are also available.
If you are looking for a caring learning community where students come first, join us at University Park Elementary School! Schedule a tour!
